


Promises

by androgynousclintbarton



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Bones also needs a hug, Jim needs a hug, M/M, hugs for everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 23:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8943388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousclintbarton/pseuds/androgynousclintbarton
Summary: Leonard is getting really sick of all the fights he has to pull Jim away from, and he figures its time for some answers. While he's getting answers from Jim, However, he's also telling him a little more about himself.





	

He wasn't sure what had started the fight this time. Jim just seemed to love picking them and Leonard couldn't keep up no matter how hard he tried. It was like the man had a death wish and even Starfleet wasn't taking that away from him without one hell of a fight.

This time he got to watch as Jim was tossed on top of a table with a loud crack before he managed to land a hard kick to the other man's face. There was blood all over both of their faces, and Leonard was confident that if it continued any longer they'd both be expelled.

He chugged back the rest of his whisky. It was time to put an end to this.

"Hey, Boys!" His voice rang out past all of the triumphant cheers and boos of the growing crowd. The sea of people broke apart to make room for him, allowing him quick access to the middle of the activity. "I think that's enough for one night, don't you?"

"Bones!" He tried to prevent himself from rolling his eyes, he really did. Unfortunately the urge was far too strong for him to overpower it. He hated that damned nickname that Jim had given him, and he certainly regretted talking about being left with 'nothing but my Bones'. Really, the nickname was all his fault and he knew it. Didn't mean he wasn't going to give Jim shit about it. "Come to be my knight in shinning medical gear?"

"That... Doesn't even make sense..." Groaning, Leonard reached out and pried the other man's hands off of Jim "alright, you go find somewhere to relax buddy. Preferably somewhere you can get that nose fixed."

The man responded with anger in his voice, but Leonard was too busy checking up on Jim's injuries to catch what exactly he had said.

"You," he reached down and wrapped a hand around Jim's wrist "are coming to my room. If you get another medical report you may be expelled."

"Awe Bones, you do care." Closing his eyes, Leonard took a deep breath and tugged Jim to his feet. He ignored the snickers and giggles that followed him as he pulled Jim through the crowd towards the exit. He knew some of the stories that other cadets had. Jim was a big name because of his brash personality and his father, there was always a story worth telling when it came to him and some of them were even kind enough to include Leonard.

Leonard, Jim's guardian angel who tries to keep him on track and passing.

Leonard, Jim's best friend and the poor bastard who picked up a lost cause.

And of course, his personal Favorite, Leonard, the man who left his wife when Jim showed up in his life and fluttered his eyelashes and smiled.

They knew nothing. Leonard wasn't Jim's guardian angel. He was just a man who worried too much about this kid he had grown far too attached to. He wasn't even sure he was Jim's best friend. He was a popular guy who could be friends with anyone he wanted. He didn't need a worrying ball of gruff, stress and sass as a best fiend. 

Jim was definitely his best friend, though, alongside M'Benga. The two of them were amazing in their own way. Thankfully M'Benga was a sensible person and didn't try to give Leonard a heart attack every second day.

Also, it was His wife who left him thank you very much. She had found someone better while he had found a lost man looking to fill a hole in his chest.

At least one of them was happy.

"Bones, you have that look on your face again." Jim's words slurred, showing just how drunk he had gotten himself before deciding to pick a fight. 

Glaring back at the other man, he raised an eyebrow "what look are you talking about?"

"The 'Jim fucked up and I want to kill him but I like him so I'll just berate him about what an idiot he is.' Look." Jim had a smile plastered across his face. One that Leonard wished he could smack off, or kiss off.

The second option unfortunately wasn't one he could carry out, no matter where they were. Jim Kirk was a player and he had a lot better options that an older man who failed keep his previous spouse happy.

"Jim, this is my normal look when I'm around you. If you want it to change I suggest you stop getting yourself into shit." The smile on Jim's face only grew at the sound of that.

"Awe, I know you like me Bones." Reaching out, Jim flicked Leonard in the nose playfully "it's why you keep coming to my rescue."

Giving his head a shake, Leonard turned the street corner down towards the dormitories. He was glad Jim liked to stick around on base and visit the bars around the school. Other students had a certain fondness for taking transporter pads to places all over the world to visit certain bars, cafes and other attractions. If Jim ever made it his life goal to travel the world and get into bar fights, Leonard wouldn't be able to follow him. He had never been on a transporter pad in his life and he planned on keeping it that way.

"You're thinking about doom and gloom stuff again." Accused Jim. Glaning over at him, Leonard raised an eyebrow and allowed himself an amused smirk.

"So, instead of studying for the day you're going to be a great Captain of Star Fleet, you've decided to study my facial expressions and what I think?" They stumbled up the stairs of the dormitory door. As his foot landed on the last step, Leonard felt a hard weight on his back and the familiar feeling of someone hugging him from behind.

It took all of his strength not to imagine Jocelyn standing there behind him with her nose buried in his back and a sloppy smile on her face.

He hated that he wasn't over the divorce yet. That it still drove him forward into getting a degree for a job he didn't want. That he felt so lost on earth that he had to head into space, the most terrifying  place in the universe. 

He hated that he wanted her happy. That he hadn't screamed and gotten angry when she told him, but had just gathered his things and left.

He hated that he was still stuck in a past that would never be again, and that his best friends sloppy version of a hug was the closest thing he'd ever get to having that small sense of happiness back. 

"Bones...." The slur in Jim's words made it hard to take the sudden appearance of worry in his voice seriously "are... Are you crying."

Reaching up, Leonard winced when he touched the tears on his face. His entire body shook with the anger and sadness that consumed him, something that even a drunk Jim Kirk couldn't ignore. "Someone has to cry for your failed career." He sassed back at the other man, grunting when the arms around his waist tightened and pulled him into a stronger hug.

"I'm sorry...." The voice behind him sounded serious for the first time that night. Apparently all it took for Jim to get his head in the game was Leonard to start crying. "If I let you fix my bloody face will it make your feel better?"

A small smile pulled at Leonard's face "it's a start" he said, watching as Jim's hands disappeared from his waist and the younger man moved in front of him.

"Then I'll get us to your room." Having Jim grab hold of his arm, Leonard grunted when he was suddenly pulled into the dormitories, letting Jim lead the way to a room he had never been to before.

They made it as far as the common room before this fact seemed to hit Jim. He stopped in his tracks and glanced around at the three different hallways he could take before glancing back at Leonard.

"Left." As soon as the word left his mouth Leonard was being pulled off to the left and down the hallway that he had gotten far too familiar with over the last year. "Room 234."

It was a few more awkward turns, at least one misdirection, a pit stop at the nearest washroom where Jim promptly threw up while Leonard watched over him and made sure he was ok, and at least 3 stumbles onto the ground for Jim, before they finally reached their destination.

"What do you know," Leonard smirked as he punched in his code for the room "if being a Captain fails you might make a good pilot." The look Of annoyance that he got in return for the joke was absolutely worth every word. 

As soon as the door was open Leonard watched as Jim jolted inside and looked around.

"Roommate?" Jim pointed over at the second bed where Leonard's roommate had left a pile of dirty cloths and at least one dirty dish.

"Hopefully in class learning how to not be a slob." Grumbled Leonard, reaching out to pluck the dirty dish off of the bed and walking it over to the sink that they shared "unfortunately he's probably at his boyfriends. He sleeps over there once in a while. Apparently the guy has an apartment of his own."

"You need a better roommate." Declared Jim, plopping himself down on the perfectly made bed that Leonard slept in.

"If you find anyone looking, I'd be glad to switch." Making his way over to his desk, Leonard pulled the drawer open and carefully extracted the medical kit that his grandparents had bought him when they found out he was the valedictorian of his Medical class. "Man's a slob. I guess that's why he's in engineering." 

Behind him, Jim continued to glance around the room, taking in every little detail that he could see. "Who's this?" He leaned over and plucked a picture off Leonard's nightstand, careful not to get any blood on his sheets.

Turning in his spot Leonard raised an eyebrow and smiled softly as he looked at the object in Jim's hand. "It's my daughter." He said simply, watching as Jim examined the photo of Joanna sitting on her grandfather's lap. "Joanna and her grandfather. It was about a year ago."

"Wow..." Jim's fingers ran over the wooden frame "you have a daughter? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Need to surprise you once in awhile. After all, the first time we met I went kinda overboard on the introductions." Walking over to the bed, Leonard set down his medical kit and opened it carefully.

"And the older man?" Thinking about it for a second, Leonard sighed and glanced over at his grandfather's passive and emotionless face. It had been one of the few pictures he had been allowed to take when his grandparents came over for a visit. "My grandfather."

The words were simply enough to speak, but the way that Jim's jaw dropped told Leonard that he had just opened a can of worms he didn't want to examine at that particular moment. "Yes, he's Vulcan. So is his wife and my mother. I got the good looks from my father." He smirked playfully.

"But... You... I...." Jim looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'll save that story for another day, for now..." He picked up the dermal regenerator carefully "let's take care of these wounds."

The next hour passed by relatively quietly. Leonard healed every scratch, bruise and fractured bone that he could find while Jim watched his hands working. He felt a little weird, having Jim watch him working with so much concentration. Thankfully, the concentration came with the bonus of Jim not talking for once in his life, and Leonard could always enjoy the quiet.

Finishing up with the last bruise, Leonard smiled softly and moved back in his spot "there, you look slightly attractive again."

"Slightly?" Jim screeched, glaring at Leonard when he lowered his head and laughed "I look amazing and you know it."

"Maybe," putting his equipment away, Leonard closed the lid and stood up to return it to his desk "now, you want to explain what this fight was about?"

His question was met with silence. An option Jim usually took when it came to his bar fights, but one Leonard wasn't willing to accept this time. "Jim, this is the third bar fight this week. It's too much. Now tell me what it was about it..."

"It's my birthday..." Bones stopped speaking, not sure how to process what his friend was saying "the day my dad died... I just.... Damn it Bones." Jim slapped his hands over his face and fell back against the bed. "I hate today. I hate it with every fiber of my being." 

"So you decided to take it out on someone else?" Asked Leonard, taking a seat beside Jim and watching him carefully.

"I needed to let it out... To get angry. I can't do this sad self pity shit Bones. That's for you." Leonard winced at the sound of that, grunting when Jim smacked him in the arm "I didn't mean it like that. I just... You handle your emotions better than me. I felt like I needed to get everything off my chest. That someone had to pay for my feelings, even if it was me."

"One of these days you're going to get yourself killed with a mentality like that." Falling back against the bed, Leonard sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. Beside him Jim reached out above him and sighed. 

"I just... I wish I had known him. I'm not good with this day. With knowing he died because someone saw his ship and decided to attack needlessly. It was a science vessel. It was meant to explore and discover, not meet its end in battle." Turning his head, Leonard looked over at Jim and watched as the younger man closed his hand into a fist and screwed his eyes shut "I just... I don't know what to do Bones..."

"You make him proud." Jim's hand dropped to his side at the sound of that "you become the best Captain Starfleet could ask for and you do what he wanted to. You discover and learn all about that God awful place called space." 

Thinking about it, Jim turned onto his side and looked at Leonard "how do I know if I can ever make it? There are so many people more deserving of being captain..."

"There might be," Leonard agreed "but in the time I've known you I've learned one important fact. You're stubborn Jim. Stubborn and willing to fight to the last breath. Whether the fight is against another person or your studies, you do fight and ultimately you do win. That's what makes you captain material. You'll always fight."

"I don't want to fight..." He whispered 

"Then you'll explore." A smile tugged at Jim's face at the sound of that "you'll go out among the stars and learn all you can. Find new places, make new friends, protect people with your ability to keep fighting against those who want to oppress and hurt others. You may not have the best grades or attention span, but you're a fighter and a protector. That's what will make you an amazing captain." 

"And you?" Leonard raised an eyebrow at the question "will you keep running? Hiding away from your past, fearing the future, and running wherever your feet take you?"

"That's one way to describe it." Chuckled Leonard "but ya, I think I will. I'll run all over the damned universe if I have to. I'll run to the injured and sick. I'll run to the scared and vulnerable. I'll run to my friends when they need me and away from danger when it presents itself. I'll always run and I'll always try and forget the things that hurt. It's how I deal with things."

"That with a touch of sassy gruff sexiness." Laughing, Leonard turned onto his side and looked at Jim. Their faces were only a few centimetres away from each other, giving Leonard the chance to see the way that Jim's eyes sparkled when he got a ridiculous idea "let's make a promise."

"A promise?" Leonard didn't know whether to laugh and kick Jim out. He was insane when he was drunk.

"It's easy. We promise to run and fight together." Leonard raised an eyebrow "everywhere you run, I'll fight for you. Every time you run to someone to help them, I'll fight to protect everyone. If we're running from danger I'll fight to get us home safely. If you're running from life and the past, I'll fight my way through a crowd for a good whisky and a quiet table for us to sit at." 

"That is..." Leonard's voice broke  and tears ran down his face as he thought about it. "We'll have to get on the same ship."

"We will if we both get top of our class." Declared Jim with a prideful smile. "That will be my first fight, well... None physical fight. I'll fight to be top of my class so we can be together. So I can fight all those space diseases and evil transporters that you'll have to go on."

Thinking about it for a second, Leonard felt a small, proud smile pull at his lips. "It's a promise." He reached out his right hand, watching as Jim looked down at it for a moment and processed what it was supposed to signify before he found himself with an arm full of the blond and a soft kiss against his lips.

A kiss that tasted like bitter whisky and blood left over from the fight. A kiss that sent Leonard's head spinning, trying to process what was going on as his hand settled on Jim's side.

After a minute, Jim pulled away slowly and smiled proudly at the dazed look in Leonard's eye. "It's a promise" he echoed Leonard's words. "And one of these days, while we're running and fighting, you're going to tell me all about the emotional and amazing half Vulcan Leonard McCoy."

"You might not like the story." Leonard smiled, licking his lips in a poor attempt to chase the feeling and taste of Jim's lips. 

"Awe, Bones." Jim brought his hand up to cup Leonard's face "if I haven't made it clear enough yet, I love everything about Leonard Horatio McCoy." 

"Even a broken Leonard McCoy?" Leonard asked, a little afraid of the answer that Jim might have in store for him.

"I've got some glue somewhere, I'm sure we can patch you up and make you even more amazing." Laughing, Leonard pressed his forehead against Jim's and just sat there for a bit looking in the other man's eyes and wishing that this night would last forever. "Besides, what fun is a person without some experience and a few cracks. It makes them interesting, and you Bones... You're the most interesting of all the people I've ever met."

Giving his head a shake, Leonard leaned forward to steal another kiss while he tried to shove Jim into a position that would allow him to get under the blankets. "Go to bed you dork." He chuckled "I'll make breakfast in the morning while you nurse the hangover." 

"Mmmmm, Bones making breakfast in his underwear." Leonard rolled his eyes at the sound of that, bullying Jim under the blankets while the younger man drifted off. Only in his dreams would that ever happen. 

\--------------------- 

Hearing blasting music the next morning, Jim pulled down the blanket just below his eyes and glared at the door to the kitchenette that Leonard had in his dorm.

"Insane, morning music, wound healing..." He shoved the blankets down and threw his legs over the side of the bed. The cold feeling of a hardwood floor sent shivers up his back, but Jim was determined to go give Leonard a piece of his mind about blasting music at fuck nuts in the morning on a weekend when Jim was hungover.

The pounding in his head only got worse when he tried to stand up, but he was guessing that if Leonard was up he had already found a way to get a hypo spray to fix that problem. He was Jim's guardian angel after all.

"Bones, what the fuck?" Jim humbled, forcing himself to walk towards the door. "What time is...." When he reached the door frame, Jim could feel his brain crashing at the sight that assaulted his eyes.

Leonard was standing in front of the small stove that he had, nothing but his pj pants on, and he was dancing. It wasn't even just a small shake of his hips, but full blown twirling and singing into the handle of the spatula he was using to flip an omelet on the stove. 

"What the..." Leonard stopped in his tracks when Jim Spoke again, turning to face the younger man while his entire face went beat red. "Oh no, you're not allowed to stop. That's the best thing I have ever seen!" Launching forward, Jim wrapped his arms around Leonard's neck and hugged him tightly while the doctor stood there in shock "and you can't be embarrassed. You knew I was sleeping here."

"I thought the ... The hangover might be bad enough..." Jim smiled at the way that Leonard stumbled over his words.

"Sleep in? When I could see this instead? Not a chance." Moving back, Jim glanced up at Bones for a moment before bringing his hands up to his hair and pulling him down into a hard kiss. 

 For a moment, Leonard taught it. He did have an omelet on the stove that he needed to attend to after all. Unfortunately for him, the kiss was far too good. The morning break was horrible, and what had been an enjoyable experience the night before made Leonard cringe now, but the enthusiasm with which Jim kissed him was intoxicating. 

It was only when the omelette started to sizzle that Leonard finally pushed Jim away and turned his attention to the food. "There's a washroom down the hall. Go brush your teeth and take a shower. Breakfast will be done when you get back."

"Is that a promise?" Jim asked, wrapping his arms around Leonard's waist and laying his chin on top of his shoulder. A move that made Leonard smile instead of pulling up old memories. 

"It's a promise." Leonard confirmed "and after breakfast, I'll start running and you start fighting."

Jim grinned at the sound of that "sir yes sir." 


End file.
